Obama Inauguration and general goings on

This post is mainly going to be pics because I know that's what you all really want anyway! :)

OBAMA INAUGURATION!

Hooray Barack! We were very excited for the inauguration, and Kira's parents got us tickets to view the event on a huge screen at the U of U. Of course, with two kiddos, we were late. So, instead of making a big scene and walking into the auditorium in the middle of the whole thing, we listened to the inaugural speech on the radio in our car, which was quite moving - perhaps even more so without the distractions of the camera. Anyway, we came in after the speech was done and joined Kira's parents for a photo op.


Other recent, fun pictures of the kids:

Look Mom, we really can play together!!

Satya plays it cool with Dad. (She just discovered the fun of sunglasses and had a blast.)

Pace has taken to his new reindeer towel with great enthusiasm. He loves being a reindeer in bed after his baths! (Thanks Uncle Raj and Aunti Nina!)

Romping around together in the "cave" (under Satya's crib). Who said a 3-year-old and 15-month-old can't wrestle??

Hot and Cold Water Bowls

Pace loves to cook! Vegan Pumpkin Bread (especially since he gets to sample the chocolate chips), anything stir-fry (he loves to get out different bowls and separate all the veggies before throwing them into the pan to cook), pancakes, cookies, whatever is for dinner...he loves to cook! "Pace help!" "I can do it! Mama move over!"

Satya had her first cooking lesson today. We practiced pouring water in and out of different sized mixing bowls and stirring. We also did a science experiment to show that metal is a good heat conductor by pouring very cold water into some bowls and warm and hot (not too hot!) water into other bowls. Satya and Pace both enjoyed feeling/splashing in the different temperatures of water and then feeling the outside of the bowls to compare. NOTE: if you do this at home with your own kids make sure to have big towels covering your floor and extra on hand!

In more kitchen news, Satya has been placed on a high fat diet! When she went in for her 1-year-old check up she was just under 18 lbs. I knew she looked thin but I couldn't figure out what more to feed her. She was eating all the time and the same foods Pace was eating at the same age. But apparently she has quite the metabolism or maybe it's because she learned to crawl at 11 months but the girl needed fatty foods. Did you know coconut milk has like 35% of adult daily saturated fat in about 2 Tbsp? So that pancake you see Satya eating, don't be fooled. That's like a circular piece of non-animal lard! Well needless to say, she's filled out those thigh rolls in the last 2+ months. Her next weight check is in a couple of weeks so we'll let you know what her stats are then.

It's Time for Change

I get restless when things stay the same for too long. 2008 was a fairly undramatic year for us in that we didn't change jobs, move houses, get pregnant, have babies. So before the year closed, I thought it was important to change something, and our blog address got targeted. "We Are HD" doesn't really mean anything. It had some vague allusion to our business LLC, but most people thought we were referring to our last names.

So "We Are HD" got chucked in the compost pile. We have two compost piles in the backyard already, why not add a cyber pile as well? :) And no need to hold your nose while digging through this compost; compost done well doesn't stink. So hopefully our posting this coming year will be plentiful, varied, and with enough heat to get some things decomposing.

So anyway, while 2008 may not have been our most dramatic year, it was still full of changes. How could it not be with two young kids who change daily? Here are some highlights from the year.

MAY - Pace learned to talk! He went from about 6 words to 600 words seemingly overnight and now has a vocabulary that strives to keep up with the complex thoughts and emotions he articulates.
JULY - We rescued Grant, Andy's bigger little brother, from the corporate prison of promotions and have reminded him of the finer things in life, like fresh air and fresh vegetables. [Translation: Grant moved to Utah to live with us!]
SEPTEMBER - Satya learned to crawl at 11 months! Much to the relief of her worried mother who thought she would forever be scooting on her bottom pushing along with one leg.
OCTOBER /NOVEMBER-Kids birthdays. Satya turned 1 and had a "Touch and Feel" birthday party, with shiny, sticky, and soft boxes to explore. Pace turned 3 with a "Chato and the Party Animals" by Gary Soto birthday party. We all dressed like home-cats from East L.A.
DECEMBER - Satya loves climbing in Pace's dump truck and getting pushed around; Pace bowls for the first time! Notice his hair flying up as he stands over the hand dryer.